RAY-FINNED FISH PHYLOGENETICS

Many of the research projects in the lab focus on the systematics of ray-finned fishes and how this relates to this clade's evolution. We resolve relationships using genomic, transcriptomic, and morphological data. Our lab has worked on projects ranging from the first explicit subordinal phylogeny of acanthomorphs and ray-finned fishes to familial and species-level studies within the Scorpaenoidei (scorpionfishes), Cottoidei (sculpins), Zoarcoidei (eelpouts), Myctophidae (lantern fishes), Leiognathidae (ponyfishes), Bedotiidae (rainbowfishes), and Cichlidae. We augment this phylogenetic work with fossil-calibrated divergence time estimates to explore fish diversification, biogeography, and macroevolution.